Category Archives: Western Culture

Our Most Common Struggle: Proverbs and Perseverance

Posted on August 23, 2019 by admin

 Is perseverance our most common struggle? To test that out, let’s look at our most common proverbs. It’s like looking at a nation’s laws to get a handle on what its most common crimes are. In the US, laws against … Continue reading →

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Doublethink: Am I a Grandpa or Not?, and Other Questions

Posted on July 26, 2019 by admin

Doublethink is on the rise, as the Western world collapses into rampant individualism, thought control under the guise of tolerance, and soft totalitarianism. “Doublethink” is a term coined by George Orwell in his dystopian masterpiece, 1984. In his bleak vision of … Continue reading →

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Community and Freedom, Part II

Posted on February 28, 2017 by admin

The relationship between community and freedom is foundational to the Christian worldview. First, we know that nothing happens apart from God’s directly willing it or permitting it (Rom 8:28 and many other passages). It follows that absolutely nothing happens by accident … Continue reading →

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Community and Freedom, Part I

Posted on February 21, 2017 by admin

In a culture where individual rights and autonomy have become our gods, the concepts of community and freedom seem to contradict each other. Your needs and wants interfere with my needs and wants. More for you means less for me. … Continue reading →

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Belong, Believe, Behave

Posted on February 7, 2017 by admin

The parish model of Catholicism, as it currently functions, is dead. We need a new paradigm. As Pope Francis has repeatedly said, the Church needs to go out into the marketplace, because increasingly, most of the people out there will not … Continue reading →

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Harden Not Your Hearts

Posted on January 30, 2017 by admin

“If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts.” These words struck me today, while preparing a Bible study on Hebrews 3. The author of Hebrews is quoting Psalm 95:7b-8. What are the dangers of a hardened heart? Aristotle notes that … Continue reading →

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Nothing To Fear But Fear Itself

Posted on January 23, 2017 by admin

That we have “nothing to fear but fear itself” is a paraphrase from Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first inaugural address. Few phrases are more apt in the current political atmosphere. The fear now, I believe, is of listening to one another. … Continue reading →

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Real Life Is Meeting

Posted on November 15, 2016 by admin

“Real Life Is Meeting” is a line from Martin Buber’s classic theological/philosophical work  I and Thou. Buber, a devout Jew, distinguishes between “I-It” relationships and “I-Thou” relationships. In “I-It” relationships, I treat the other as an object, a means to an end. In … Continue reading →

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Election Reflection

Posted on November 8, 2016 by admin

In my 39 voting years, no election has inspired such controversy as this one. Conflict, anxiety, and divine reassurance came to mind on this momentous election day. Battle lines are being drawn. That line from the 1966 Buffalo Springfield classic, “For What … Continue reading →

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Hillary, Trump, and Voting One’s Conscience

Posted on September 13, 2016 by admin

Hillary, Trump, and voting one’s conscience. If there’s a lull in a cocktail party conversation, bring up these three items. If the polls are correct, never have both candidates in a presidential election been so disliked. The prevailing refrains are “I’m not … Continue reading →

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